|
I’m a 60 year old coder. I’ve been doing it since I was 20. I always knew I loved it, but I just realized I truly do it for the get-up-and-walk-around moment. That’s the moment when you fix a sneaky bug, or complete a demanding or tricky task/algorithm/approach. It’s so satisfying, that you can’t simply move on to the next thing. You have to get up and walk around to bask in the satisfaction.
I’m chasing a get up and walk around worthy bug in a bit of embedded C++ at the moment. It’s a timer fringe case, or a variable the should be volatile, and it’s not. I’ll get it, and I’ll certainly need to get-up-and-walk-around once it’s dead.
Has anyone else recognized the need to get-up-and-walk-around after a truly satisfying coding moment? Do you have other victory rituals?
|
|
|
|
|
I hadn't noticed it but yeah I do get up and walk around after a big sign of relief.
The thing about C/C++ is you can shoot yourself in the foot and the problem is so subtle that it takes special skills and a lot of cursing to find and fix.
The less you need, the more you have.
Even a blind squirrel gets a nut...occasionally.
JaxCoder.com
|
|
|
|
|
I did find this mornings beast. It was such a shot to the foot, that I'm not sure I deserve a get-up moment.
|
|
|
|
|
Congrats, always satisfying.
The less you need, the more you have.
Even a blind squirrel gets a nut...occasionally.
JaxCoder.com
|
|
|
|
|
You don't get up and walk around after you shot yourself in the foot. Please be consistent! 
Mircea
|
|
|
|
|
Just the kind of inconsistency that caused me to shoot myself in the foot, in the first place.
|
|
|
|
|
Never done it while coding, but a semicircular trot towards the net and back is a common follow-through after hitting a winner on the tennis court. 
|
|
|
|
|
Yes - it does have the automatic feel of the circular trot.
|
|
|
|
|
Absolutely  a bit like how a deer shakes after having escaped danger the walk around gets the adrenalin out of the system.
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
|
|
|
|
|
GuyThiebaut wrote: a deer shakes after having escaped danger the walk around gets the adrenalin out of the system
I see the same thing in my greyhound. After he's run zoomies for a couple of minutes, he walks around shaking and blowing for a while. Even at almost ten years old, he can still get up to around 25 mph (racers at their peak can do 40+ mph).
Software Zen: delete this;
|
|
|
|
|
On the highway, I have seen Grehounds at 55 and 60 mph
|
|
|
|
|
Of course, I'm talking about the dog, 2nd fastest land animal on Earth (1st is the cheetah). They can accelerate from a standstill to 40 mph in six strides.
Retired racers make great pets; "world's fastest couch potato" is a common description  .
Software Zen: delete this;
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously!
0 to 40mph in six strides, that is something. Did you ever calculate the acceleration in terms of g load? And also, how much kinetic energy does he gain in those six strides, in how short time - or in other words, how many watts of effect does he produce to do that acceleration?
Animals can display some amazing capabilities, and if you sit down and do the math, it sometimes goes from amazing to truly unbelievable.
|
|
|
|
|
trønderen wrote: Did you ever calculate the acceleration in terms of g load?
No, but he develops considerable momentum (he weighs around 75 pounds). When we first got him it took a while to find a fencing contractor, so we put him outside on a steel cable attached to a tree to use the bathroom. We bought a collar that included plastic hardware, but was guaranteed for large dogs - 100 pounds and up. One day he caught sight of a cat, took off running, reached the end of the cable, and did not stop. The collar hardware shattered and off he went. Fortunately I was watching and chased off after him. The good news was he still needed to pee and when he stopped to do that I caught up to him.
Software Zen: delete this;
|
|
|
|
|
Gary Wheeler wrote: One day he caught sight of a cat, took off running, reached the end of the cable, and did not stop.
We may be sidetracking quite a bit here, but ...
My dogs, several years ago, were great teddy bears, but not exactly greyhounds ... They were St.Bernhards, 75-80 kg (and at that time, that was lightweight, for a St.Bernhard!). My first dog of course couldn't follow a cat making twists and turns, but he could get into speed down a straight street.
He did, getting into considerable speed. The cat jumped into a lawn, and he followed. The lawn had an area protected by a dense fir hedgerow. The cat flew under it. My 80 St.Bernhard tried to do the same. The earth shook. It is a great wonder none of the the hedge firs were pulled up by the root.
Anyone claiming that animals have no feelings, can feel no shame, have never seen my dog that day. His tail was so tightly pressed against his belly that the tip almost reached his mouth. He refused to look me in the eye for at least an hour or two, searching for corners where he could hide.
I guess our laughs (we did laugh!) didn't improve matters. But after all, we were his pack, so he gradually realized that our comforting strokes were honest signs of unity and support, and he relaxed.
I believe that this episode was essential to strengthen the bonds between him and us as a pack. OK, so we did laugh when it happened, but he showed his feelings to us, and we clearly signaled: Yet you are one of us! We are still accepting you, we will comfort you. Straighten up, you are a good boy!
|
|
|
|
|
That poor baby...
Software Zen: delete this;
|
|
|
|
|
I once had a Fox Terrier who could do 30 mph, timed and verified.
He too had a sense of shame. Once went for a cat sitting in the distance and when the cat was unperturbed he ran straight past and into some bushes, fossicking around while telling me that there had been something there just now.
|
|
|
|
|
They are amazing to watch when they do zoomies, we have a few rescues (ex racers) that walk the beach with us in the morning, poor bloody labs just watch on in consternation of the flying streaks as they tear up and down the sand having a great time.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity -
RAH
I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP
|
|
|
|
|
Mycroft Holmes wrote: they tear up and down the sand having a great time
The joy they feel when they run is amazing. When I first adopted Bacchus, we thought like everyone else; they had to be 'forced' to run and were subject to cruel treatment if they didn't. Nothing could be further from the truth. You haven't seen real joy until you've watched them. Even when they're very old and reduced to a slow trot, they love running.
That's why I refer to Bacchus as a retired racer rather than a rescue. He's a professional athlete who retired due to an injury (broken ankle, easily fixed but no more racing). His trainer called us twice after we adopted him to see how he was doing. Those folks love these animals; that's not cruelty.
Software Zen: delete this;
|
|
|
|
|
Sleeps up to 20 hours a day, runs like s**t off a shovel.
Sighthounds are great.
|
|
|
|
|
Brilliant! 
Software Zen: delete this;
|
|
|
|
|
My own dog is a sighthound cross (hence she's a lurcher).
Her dad was Border collie x Whippet, her mum was a husky. So low boredom threshold, lots of speed and lots of stamina. Not a handful at all!
|
|
|
|
|
Alister Morton wrote: Her dad was Border collie x Whippet, her mum was a husky.
That would make her a great polar bear herder!
Software Zen: delete this;
|
|
|
|
|
Definitely has the herding instinct of the collie, most of the prey drive of the whippet and the bossiness, digging and vocalising of the husky. Never a dull moment with our Truffle.
|
|
|
|
|
Alister Morton wrote: Truffle
I love the name .
My greyhound is 'Bacchus', named for the Greek/Roman god of wine and revelry. My wife loves mythology and picked the name even before we met the dog. The couple who was fostering him told us he didn't bark, he just whined when he wanted something.
Yes. He's the god of, er, whine. 
Software Zen: delete this;
|
|
|
|
General 
News 
Suggestion 
Question 
Bug 
Answer 
Joke 
Praise 
Rant 
Admin 
Submit an article or tip
